What is Veiling?
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- $29.99
Publisher Description
The Islamic veil in all its forms - from the headscarf to the full body garment - is one of the most visible signs of Islam as a religion. It is also one of its most controversial and misunderstood traditions among both Muslims and non-Muslims. In an environment of increasing conservatism in both Euro-American and Muslim-majority societies, in a world where a woman's right to wear the headscarf has become a touchstone for issues of all sorts, and at a time when racial and religious profiling has become commonplace, it is our political and social responsibility to gain a deeper understanding of veiling.This concise, easy-to-read and even-handed introduction is organised around three main topics: the historical, religious and cultural background; contemporary debates about the veil; and the varied, shifting meanings the veil has had for Muslim women over the past century.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
While there is no direct requirement to veil in any Islamic religious texts, many Muslim women choose to do so and in a variety of ways that have nuanced meanings, which Amer, a University of Sydney professor of Arabic and Islamic studies, catalogues and explores, offering perhaps the definitive glossary on veiling. She spares no one in her analysis, asserting that Western politicians exploit the veil rather than focus on real problems. At the same time, Amer exposes, in a critique sure to rankle Muslims, the social pressure to wear hijab (a common term for nonfacial veiling) among Muslim student groups, causing social isolation from non-Muslims but inviting solidarity from other Muslim students. Muslim women, in general, face this double-edged sword, where acceptance in one community probably means rejection, even bullying, in the other. Amer's deliberate and caring scholarly treatment is pitch-perfect. This book about "hijabistas," "muhajababes," and veiled Muslim hip-hop artists, among others, is really not just about veiling; it is the story of Islam, especially modern Islam, told through the prism of the veil.
